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Monday, March 24, 2014

the Directors: Alejandro González Iñárritu


It seems odd to hail a director as one of my favorite filmmakers, given that he’s only released four feature films in his career. Such is the power of Alejandro González Iñárritu. A man determined to examine and expose how people behave when pushed to the edge. One of my favorite themes in film is the aftermath of tragedy; exploring those private moments of emotional decay and torment. That’s something Iñárritu, perhaps, does better than any living filmmaker. He doesn’t shy away from brutality, instead, he embraces the horror, and the unlikely beauty that can form from it.

Please don’t let my grades below dilute the power of Iñárritu’s films. I don’t know how many films a director has to make in order for that director to be labeled as one of my favorites, but in this case, four is surely enough.

Amores Perros (2000)
Amores Perros is arguably the most brutal film Iñárritu has made. It opens with a frenzied car chase that results in a gruesome accident. From there, the film is split into three distinct character chapters that play out in chronological order. First, we focus on Octavio, the driver of the car, next on Valeria, an innocent victim of the accident, and finally on El Chivo, a homeless man who profited from the crash.

Although the carnage of Amores Perros lends itself to violent content, this is really a film about love. Octavio is in love with his sister-in-law, and will do anything, including becomingly entangled in a vicious dogfighting ring, to afford to move away with her. Valeria is a famous supermodel whose lover, Daniel, struggles to maintain his passion for her and her newly deformed body. And El Chivo is a layered man with many past secrets, namely the guilt he feels from walking out on his daughter decades ago.

The first time I watched this film marks one of the most important movie viewing experiences of my life. I was a senior in high school, and it was 11 p.m. on a school night. I decided to put Amores Perros on, knowing nothing more about the film than its critical comparisons to Pulp Fiction. I didn’t move for two and a half hours. I was paralyzed in amazement, fear and inspiration. My active mind didn’t allow for sleep that night, a small price to pay for being inspired so grandly. I had just watched a mesmerizing film unlike any other I had seen. And I ask, is there anything more fulfilling than that? A+

The Hire, segment: Powder Keg (2001)
When BMW hired a handful of filmmakers to create short films to promote their cars, they certainly didn’t skimp on talent. Many notable directors contributed shorts to the collection, with Iñárritu delivering the most equally intense and reflective film of the bunch. Powder Keg stars Stellan Skarsgård as a veteran war photographer who lays injured in the back seat of a Beamer as The Driver (Clive Owen) desperately flees from hostile territory. In his last moments of life, the photographer recounts the horrors he’s witnessed, and his guilt in never helping the many victims he photographed.

With its gray and gritty cinematography, pulsating pace, a melancholic dialogue, Powder Keg is certainly one of The Hire’s finest offerings. (Watch Powder Keg here.) A-

11’09”01 September 11, segment: Mexico (2002)
11’09”01 September 11 is a collection of 11 films made by 11 filmmakers from 11 different countries. The anthology was developed and produced quickly, ultimately premiering at the Venice Film Festival just one short year after the attacks.

Like all anthology films, 11’09”01 September 11 has its strong and weak segments. Thankfully, we’re here to discuss the best one. The majority of Iñárritu’s segment is a black screen. Distorted sounds fade in, but we aren’t quite sure what they are. A flash of light jumps on the screen; gone as quickly as it appeared. The sounds become clearer – crying, screaming in the street, anxious news anchors, desperate voices on the phone. Another scream, another flash. The flashes start to gain focus, and we realize they are footage of people falling from the towers.

The first time I saw this short, I didn’t fully realize what Iñárritu was doing until the film concluded. Upon reflection, I feel confident calling this segment one of the most visceral and unsettling films ever made about 9/11. Not an easy watch, but an important one all the same. (Watch the short, with caution, here.) A

21 Grams (2003)
21 Grams is structured like a confounding, disorientating, fascinating puzzle. The film, again, deals with the aftermath of a tragic car accident, but instead of the accident being the starting point, it serves as a hidden, looming threat that overshadows the entire film. Because the film is presented in such a narratively fractured way, we have to put the pieces together to figure out what has happened. To add to the complexity, Iñárritu wisely opts not to show the accident in this film – a quietly startling juxtaposition to the grisly opening scene of Amores Perros.

The film is about three people: Cristina (Naomi Watts, delivering one of the best screen performances I’ve ever seen), a woman whose family is hit by a car, Jack (Benicio del Toro) a reformed ex-con who is driving the car, and Paul (Sean Penn) an extremely ill professor who receives the heart of Cristina’s husband following the accident. We meet these people in snippets – before and after the accident, never in chronological order, and never for very long. 

The marvel of 21 Grams is the relentlessness of its pain. It grabs you right away and never hints at letting go. Similarly to my first viewing of Amores Perros, I’ll never forget the first time I watched 21 Grams. I stumbled out of the movie theater, unable to form a coherent thought, let alone operate my car. When I watched the film a few days ago for this post, I realized it hits just as hard as it did 10 years ago. Unsettling in its story, uncompromising in its execution – 21 Grams is one of the best, most unique films, from this or any decade, about loss and forgiveness. A+

Babel (2006)
The third film in Iñárritu’s unofficial Death Trilogy is an unrelenting examination of human nature. Essential to this trilogy is Iñárritu’s screenwriter, Guillermo Arriaga, who delivers his finest work in Babel, a film told through four intercut stories that play out in chronological order. However, the stories do not all take place at the same time, and some chapters don’t appear to link with the others at all (until, of course, they do). Needless to say, Babel is a challenge, riddled with a purposefully complex structure that forces the viewer to actively participate, as opposed to simply watch.

In Morocco, two young boys shoot their rifle at a tour bus for the hell of it. One of their bullets injures an American tourist, Susan (Cate Blanchett), whose husband, Richard (Brad Pitt), is forced to tend to her possibly fatal wound in a foreign land. In the midst of their troubles, the couple’s maid, Amelia (Adriana Barraza), takes Susan and Richard’s two children to her son’s wedding in Mexico, despite Richard’s strong opposition. Concurrently, in the film’s strongest episode, we meet a deaf Japanese girl, Chieko (Rinko Kikuchi), as she struggles to find her sexual identity.

Alejandro González Iñárritu doesn’t make easy films. In addition to his intricate storytelling methods, his films are goddamn painful. There’s nothing easy about the loss of love and innocence. And instead of Iñárritu’s characters getting away with the pain they inflict, he’s much more interested in watching them suffer through the consequences of their actions. To hail one of the Death Trilogy films over the other two is simply not something I’m able to do. They all fit perfectly in the world Iñárritu and Arriaga created. What I will offer is that, although Babel is taxing, the conclusion of this film, scored to perfection by Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “Bibo No Aozora,” is genuinely one of the most beautiful endings to a movie that I’ve ever seen. I’m forever enamored with its pain. A+

To Each Their Own Cinema, segment: Anna (2007)
To Each His Own Cinema (or Chacun son cinema, as it was known in France) was an anthology film created by the Cannes Film Festival in which dozens of filmmakers were commissioned to create a three minute short about the importance of cinema. Not surprisingly, my favorite film of the series is Iñárritu’s Anna, a devastating portrayal of a young woman’s love for cinema being inexplicably taken away from her. No further details should be presented in print. This film is too beautiful to visually ignore, and deserves to be seen, instead of read about. A

Biutiful (2011)
Parting ways with Guillermo Arriaga (the two had a public falling out over Babel’s screenwriting credit), Iñárritu wrote a developed Biutiful, a film about a dying man desperately attempting to get his life in order before his cancer consumes him. Although the film introduces supporting characters that are given a substantial amount of screentime, Biutful is essentially presented as a straight story; a one man tale that plays out in chronological order.  After Uxbal (a towering Javier Bardem) is told he has months to live, he struggles to set up a life for his young children. In order to maintain stability for his kids that will endure past his death, Uxbal attempts to make a lot of money illegally in a short period of time, and urges his bipolar wife to seek continuing care.

All of the hardships in Uxbal’s life are presented with equal measure, including his ability to occasionally speak with the dead, which consumes his life as a curse. Like all Iñárritu films, Biutiful is a challenge, and I’m honestly not sure it would work as well as it does without Javier Bardem’s dedication. As Uxbal, Bardem delivers what is, perhaps, the finest performance of his routinely perfect career. Uxbal isn’t a likeable man, but he clearly has goodness within him, waiting to be tapped into. And my, what a thrill it is to see Iñárritu bring out the beauty from behind the bleak. Really, is there anyone who does it better? A-

Birdman (to be released Sept., 2014)
Birdman is a film about a washed-up actor who made a name for himself playing a superhero. The actor is played by Michael Keaton, and Iñárritu has said the film is a comedy. How many different languages can you say “Sold” in?

In Summation
Masterful
Amores Perros
11’09”01 September 11, segment: Mexico 
21 Grams
Babel

Great
The Hire, segment: Powder Keg 
To Each Their Own Cinema, segment: Anna 
Biutiful 

Good
None

Eh
None

Just Plain Bad
None


44 comments:

  1. Interesting, now you have me even more excited to see Wait. I'm curious to see how Iñárritu's influence will manifest itself in your style.

    I am certainly a fan of the man's work, though I do find that with both Babel and Biutiful it felt as though he was letting his own ego (though perhaps that word is a bit strong) emerge. To me they didn't have the more visceral edge of his first two features and instead featured more of a bloated sense of self-importance (once again, I'm probably being a bit harsh). Solid films no doubt but I'm certainly not as enthralled with them as you are (no hate on my end).

    I'm looking forward to Birdman as well. It'll be interesting to see him tackle some lighter material and I hope he pulls it off.

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    1. Wow man, thanks for saying that. I suppose his influence impacts me most in the area of theme. One of my favorite themes to focus on as a filmmaker is people in times of post-tragedy, which is something that defines Iñárritu's work. I also love the grittiness of his composition. He often uses grade-A cameras, yet his films have a raw fluidity that I find very compelling. There's nothing clean about his films, if you know what I mean.

      Per your criticism, I can see where you're coming from regarding Biutiful. It did seem like Iñárritu was very, very concerned with making an Iñárritu film. I personally don't think that applies to Babel, but hey, to each their own.

      Can't wait for Birdman!

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    2. Exactly, to each their own! I am curious what your thoughts were on Guillermo Arriaga's own The Burning Plain though. Do you think he survived the separation as well as Iñárritu?

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    3. You know, I could stand to give that one a rewatch. I did not like it very much when it first came out, but I wanted to So. Badly. Maybe I'd like it more now. Who knows? How about you?

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    4. It has all the hallmarks of his work with Iñárritu yet none of the style and fire of their collaborative works. I found it surprisingly dull, even if some of the ideas were interesting.

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  2. I was not as big a fan of 21 Grams or Babel as you are, but I was floored by Biutiful when I saw it in the theater in 2011. The themes in that film hit close to home for me, but in a way that others about death and fatherhood never have. In my mind, it's Inarritu's masterpiece. All of his trademarks are there, but there's also an economy and subtlety to the storytelling that I didn't feel with his other films. (Caveat: I haven't seen Amores Perros, but it's on my list.)

    I'm really eager to see Birdman. It seems so incongruous with the rest of Inarritu's filmography, but he's hooked me at least for the next few films.

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    1. See, this is what I find so interesting about Iñárritu's work, and I'm so pleased you voiced it here. Arguably most people hail one of his first three films as his masterpiece, but some really do stick by Biutiful. I love that that movie has such a loyal following. It's funny, because that film didn't really work for me the first time I saw it. But in the years since, because I've grown as a person, that film has gotten better for me. Sure, it's only been three years since it came out, but that's enough time for someone to view certain aspects of life in a new way, which I certainly have. Basically, I love that film more and more everytime I watch it.

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    2. I'm glad you've been able to revisit Biutiful. Bardem's left-field nomination aside, the film was unfairly overlooked back in 2011. I think a great film evolves with its audience. Critics rarely discuss how fluid personal taste can be, but the films change as we do and occasionally they change us as well.

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    3. Yes, exactly. I actually try to talk about how films change with age as often as I can. Ebert did that a lot too. It's just the oddest thing - because, obviously, movies don't change at all. We do. Biutiful is definitely one I've grown into more. It has a very keen sense on the importance of life.

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  3. Though I prefer del Toro and Cuaron for very different reasons. I do like Inarritu as he's already a likely candidate for a possible Auteurs profile next year. I like all of his work though at times, they can be a bit overwhelming in its bleakness. I have seen all of his features and shorts so far as in my ranking, this is how I would put it...

    1. Amores Perros
    2. 21 Grams
    3. Babel
    4. 11'9"1-September 11 (Mexico)
    5. Powder Keg
    6. Anna
    7. Biutiful

    Biutiful is the one I struggled with the most where as much as I enjoyed Javier Bardem's performance. I had issues with its pacing where it was sluggish at times and nearly put me to sleep which is not very often. I hope Birdman marks a change of pace for him.

    Since Inarritu, Cuaron, and del Toro are often considered the best of the three Mexican directors right now. What about Carlos Reygadas of Silent Light and Post Tenebras Lux?

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    1. I agree completely with the last two paragraphs here. I too am questioning the lack of Reygadas as well. Well played thevoid99, well played.

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    2. Reygadas is an Auteurs profile I plan to do for May as I'm about to start work on my next subject in Francois Ozon. So far, Reygadas is someone that I really like as Silent Light just blew me away. I just need to see Post Tenebras Lux and a couple of shorts and I'm set until the next film.

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    3. Post Tenebras Lux is totally bizarre in my opinion. I remember reading a few reviews of it before watching it and it in no way prepared me for what that film actually was. In some ways it was straighter than I thought but in others it was just completely "out-there".

      Francois Ozon is an interesting case for me (I haven't seen everything he's done yet but I have seen a good deal of it). I'd be interested in hearing your opinion of his work for sure. (Ricky is definitely a guilty pleasure for me regardless of how silly and sentimental it is)

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    4. the void, per Biutiful: I do think the running time is a tad inflated. I'm wouldn't dare say what could be cut, but the film could be all together tighter. Still, I do cherish Bardem's work in it.

      per Reygadas: I'm unfamiliar on his work, but the fact that you two are praising him makes me want to watch his films ASAP. You've given me some great films to start with, so thanks!

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    5. On Reygadas: I thought Silent Light was a near-masterpiece but I just couldn't get on his wavelength with Post Tenebras Lux. Also, the scene with the dog didn't do the latter film any favors with me. It instantly pulled me out of the film.

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    6. Fuckin' hell this sounds intense.

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    7. WJ, I loved Silent Light. Until the ending. All along I was enraptured and then came the ending. To me it seemed so artificial. Not just bad or uninteresting, but astonishingly horrible. I have never seen a movie which achieved the heights that Silent Light did but then also the lows.

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    8. Jesus, you guys really know how to sell a flick. I NEED to watch this.

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  4. I really hope Birdman is great and gives Michael Keaton the comeback he deserves. He is such a great and charming actor that has been gone from good movies for way too long now.

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    1. Keaton is one of my Top 20 favorite actors. Seriously, I LOVE that man's work. I really hope he kills it in that film. I have yet to see a poor performance in an Iñárritu film, so here's to hoping.

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    2. I know these weren't like unbelievable roles or anything, but I can’t help but remember Michael Keaton as the police chief / Bed, Bath & Beyond clerk in “The Other Guys” and as a con artist pretending to be a paraplegic in an episode of “Frasier”. He was fun to watch in both and I think he could do well in a more darkly comedic role. I hope Birdman is of that sort of comedy.

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    3. I haven't seen Frasier, but he was the only part about The Other Guys that I liked. Actually, he was the only reason I even watched it (same with this year's Robocop). I love the dude.

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  5. Wow I really need to start getting into this guy's work! Do you think you could do Guillermo del Toro soon that way you could have The Three Amigos of Cinema in your Directors series?

    -Dan

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    1. It does seem appropriate to cover del Toro now. Gotta complete the trio. But yeah, I cannot recommend Iñárritu's highly enough. All are seemingly perfect.

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    2. Or you could do Pedro Almodóvar lol.

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    3. I've been wanting to tackle Almodóvar for sure. So many great directors to write about!

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  6. Gonzalez is probably my favourite director. In my not very informed opinion, the best movies are being made by Mexicans right now. Cuaran and de Toro have been mentioned, here, and its nice to see the director of Silent Light also noted.

    (As an aside, the first of two last names, in Mexican cultures, tend to be the one by which a person is referred. I am not sure whether Gonzales is called Gonzales Inarritu simply because other people do not know this or because that is how he self-identifies).

    A question: How do you evaluate the contributions of Guillermo Arriaga to the first three movies of Gonzales?

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    1. Hey, thanks so much for stopping by. Really appreciate all your comments here.

      I think Guillermo Arriaga was an essential component for Iñárritu's first three movies. It's a shame that they had such a heated falling out over the Babel credit, because together, they created three of the best films I've ever seen. Damn shame.

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  7. Love this! I've only seen his Death Trilogy and Biutiful, but I dig all of them. Amores Perros is my favorite of the bunch. What a brutal, brilliant film.

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    1. Brutal and beautiful, indeed. Just rewatched 21 Grams last night. That one really knocks the wind out of me.

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  8. Iñárritu is one of the best directors working today. The early reviews for Birdman have been exceptional, I cannot wait to see it! I haven't seen 11'9"1-September 11 (Mexico), Powder Keg nor Anna, but I'll see watch them ASAP. Here is my own personal ranking of his work:

    1. 21 Grams
    2. Babel
    3. Amores Perros
    4. Biutiful

    For such a short filmography, he sure has made some brilliant films.

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    1. It's so hard for me to rank his films. Whenever I think I have it sorted out, I watch one and go, "No, wait, THAT'S my favorite."

      But I guess what's important is that I love them all. Rarely has pain been realized so well on screen. So excited for Birdman.

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  9. Yes, truly. He is also responsible for directing one of the most amazing sequences I've seen in any film. In Babel, when Rinko Kikuchi is on the swing. The score, the seamless cinematography, and of course, Rinko Kikuchi's pitch perfect performance. My god, it was so beautiful.

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    1. Oh god, what a perfect, perfect scene. Really, that whole ecstasy sequence is superb. Cutting to silence in the club... such a startling (non)use of sound.

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  10. I saw Babel. It is bad, very bad. I don't like it, I don't like the story, I don't the characters, I don't like the performance of any of the actors involve. A messy film. F.

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    1. Joke! The film was whoa!!! I love how emotional it was. I love for the performance in it. Brad Pitt when is Bred Pit isn't very great but here was very good. Cate Blanchett played pretty normal but it was very refreshing. Their story was very good and full of thrilling moments. The story of Amelia wasn't so great, it was very good but it felt like a little misstep. The two young boys story was very great I loved it, very natural. The story of Chieko was incredible great, my favorite. There was the moment she left the room and I said to myself: If she gonna comeback naked I'll give to the film A++. Now the ALL film isn't A++, but its a A+ definitely. I'll watch really soon Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Biutiful and Birman. Birdman now its an A or an A+.

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    2. Okay. Wow. That REALLY threw me off. We often agree on so much, so when you said F, I was like, holy fuck, no way.

      So glad you liked it, this film has always hit me really hard. Rinko Kikuchi is astounding in this movie. She guts me every time I watch it. Ah, so, so good.

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    3. The film hit me to the core. Was exceptional.

      Birdman, it is an A or an A+?

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    4. Probably still an A for me. But A+ movies take time, you know?

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  11. Amores Perros was Whoa!!! It was fantastic to follow all this characters and the film has something from Pulp Fiction when, at the end, El Chivo "walks to Earth". Was fantastic I love, and I think it is more flawless and brutal then Babel but I do not necessary consider it better. I love them equally. I saw it in like 6 hours. I was very sleepy and you know... Now this film is one of the best acted, best wrote and most bloody I ever saw. Pure genius. Now A+.

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    1. Awesome man, so glad you liked it. It's so raw and unflinching, I fucking love that film. A+, for sure. I agree with you... I don't know if I like it more than Babel, but it might be a better film, hard to tell. Point is, they're both damn fine films.

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  12. 21 Grams was perfect. In one word, PERFECT. I love it. One of the most original film I ever saw. I love it more than Babel, Amores Perros and Birdman. Naomi Watts delivers one of the best screen performances I’ve ever seen, and Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn are very great. I love the nonlinear narrative (so good that I think is as good as Memento and Pulp Fiction) and now this film is in my top 3 of the decade. The film griped me, moved me, astonished me. Now I'd rank Alejandro González Iñárritu films like this, I the order of how much I love them (but I think all are more like A+).
    21 Grams
    Babel
    Amores Perros
    Birdman

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    1. So good, right? It gets better every time I watch it. I love how it's so unafraid to embrace pain. I mean, that is one goddamn dark movie. So glad to hear you appreciate it as much as I do.

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